Confused about calories needed

I'm a 40 year old male, 200 pounds, 5 foot 11 inches, and would like to lose
20 pounds. How many calories should I aim for each day. I did try and cut
down to 1500 and did 30 minutes of rowing daily, but found I'm just
constantly hungry.

Is 1500 to little for my needs. Should I increase it.

For food, today I had the following:

1 apple = 100 calories
1 banana = 100 calories
1 orange = 100 calories
1 pear = 100 calories
1 ounce nuts = 200 calories
3 glasses of milk = 300 calories
4 whole grain toast with peanut butter and jam = 800 calories

That's already 1700 calories and I haven't even had dinner yet

You are using good rounded estimates of calories, but I have to ask - why in
the world did you eat 4 pieces of toast w/ peaunt butter and jam? You could
have done so much more with those calories than waste them on that.


"alex" wrote in message
news:nzRwh.873020$R63.222747@pd7urf1no...
I'm a 40 year old male, 200 pounds, 5 foot 11 inches, and would like to
lose 20 pounds. How many calories should I aim for each day. I did try
and cut down to 1500 and did 30 minutes of rowing daily, but found I'm
just constantly hungry.

Is 1500 to little for my needs. Should I increase it.

For food, today I had the following:

1 apple = 100 calories
1 banana = 100 calories
1 orange = 100 calories
1 pear = 100 calories
1 ounce nuts = 200 calories
3 glasses of milk = 300 calories
4 whole grain toast with peanut butter and jam = 800 calories

That's already 1700 calories and I haven't even had dinner yet

On Feb 2, 5:28 pm, "alex" wrote:
I'm a 40 year old male, 200 pounds, 5 foot 11 inches, and would like to lose
20 pounds. How many calories should I aim for each day. I did try and cut
down to 1500 and did 30 minutes of rowing daily, but found I'm just
constantly hungry.
Is 1500 to little for my needs. Should I increase it.


Caloric intake will depend alot on your activity level. Calories in =
calories out basically.
Log a typical week of foods (http://www.fitday.com) and if you dont
gain any weight that is your maintanence calories.
Then subtract a modest 500 calories from that to lose about a pound of
scale weight per week.

For food, today I had the following:
1 apple = 100 calories
1 banana = 100 calories
1 orange = 100 calories
1 pear = 100 calories
1 ounce nuts = 200 calories
3 glasses of milk = 300 calories
4 whole grain toast with peanut butter and jam = 800 calories

That's already 1700 calories and I haven't even had dinner yet


Are you on the fruit diet? LoL! Try something like this:

Breakfast: glass of skim (?) milk, ONE slice toast with ONE tsp of
peanutbutter (btw not a good protein source but high in natural fats)
- better would be some egg beaters (or one whole egg with some whites)
and a side of oatmeal. Skip the bread, skip the milk.

Midmorning snack: ONE fruit, maybe some nuts.

Lunch: Some form of protein, some form of a vegetable. Drink water.

Midday snack: ONE fruit, maybe some nuts or some form of protein here
(cottage cheese? lowfat string cheese?)

Dinner: Some bigger form of protein (fish/chicken) with some side
vegetables/brown rice etc.

Nitesnack: ONE fruit, fatfree pudding/jello/etc.


If you log foods on FitDay it gives you a nice breakdwon of how many
protein/carbs/fats you are eating.



joanne

On Feb 2, 8:28 pm, "alex" wrote:
I'm a 40 year old male, 200 pounds, 5 foot 11 inches, and would like to lose
20 pounds. How many calories should I aim for each day. I did try and cut
down to 1500 and did 30 minutes of rowing daily, but found I'm just
constantly hungry.

Is 1500 to little for my needs. Should I increase it.

For food, today I had the following:

1 apple = 100 calories
1 banana = 100 calories
1 orange = 100 calories
1 pear = 100 calories
1 ounce nuts = 200 calories
3 glasses of milk = 300 calories
4 whole grain toast with peanut butter and jam = 800 calories

That's already 1700 calories and I haven't even had dinner yet

Eat all the fruits and only fruits after Noon until 4PM. At 4PM, eat
the nuts, and at 6PM, eat the bread with a glass of milk. At 8PM,
drink the second glass of milk, and at 10PM drink the last drink of
milk. The toughtest time for me is in the evening. I can go through
the day without eating too much.

On Feb 2, 8:28 pm, "alex" wrote:
I'm a 40 year old male, 200 pounds, 5 foot 11 inches, and would like to lose
20 pounds. How many calories should I aim for each day. I did try and cut
down to 1500 and did 30 minutes of rowing daily, but found I'm just
constantly hungry.

Is 1500 to little for my needs. Should I increase it.

For food, today I had the following:

1 apple = 100 calories
1 banana = 100 calories
1 orange = 100 calories
1 pear = 100 calories
1 ounce nuts = 200 calories
3 glasses of milk = 300 calories
4 whole grain toast with peanut butter and jam = 800 calories

That's already 1700 calories and I haven't even had dinner yet

Delay as much as possible the eating. Keep fasting until your stomach
hurts.

"alex" wrote in message
news:nzRwh.873020$R63.222747@pd7urf1no...
I'm a 40 year old male, 200 pounds, 5 foot 11 inches, and would like to
lose 20 pounds. How many calories should I aim for each day. I did try
and cut down to 1500 and did 30 minutes of rowing daily, but found I'm
just constantly hungry.

Is 1500 to little for my needs. Should I increase it.

For food, today I had the following:

1 apple = 100 calories
1 banana = 100 calories
1 orange = 100 calories
1 pear = 100 calories
1 ounce nuts = 200 calories
3 glasses of milk = 300 calories
4 whole grain toast with peanut butter and jam = 800 calories

That's already 1700 calories and I haven't even had dinner yet



I am 57, 210 lbs (down from 260 lbs on Oct 23)

Here's what I've eaten today:

Breakfast:
Ham and cheese Eggbeater omelet using 3/4 cup of Eggbeater
stuff,
1 oz thin sliced ham, 1 slice Kraft 2% cheddar cheese,
light garlic powder
and 1/2 tbs of ketchup. Calories: 170
Small apple, tangerine, 10 grapes and one of those "mini"
bananas.
Calories: about 170

Lunch:
Big bowl of Boston lettuce, white wine vinegar, 6 anchovy
fillets.
Progresso veg soup, 5 no fat saltine crackers. Calories:
250

Dinner: Two turkey and cheese sandwiches, using low calorie whole wheat
bread (4 slices), thin sliced turkey breast and 2% cheddar
cheese.
Little bit of honey mustard on each sandwich. Calories:
about 350

Snacks: One of those small, 100 calorie bags of microwave popcorn, two
Dannon
yogurt cups (the 60 calorie ones), another apple and
tangerine, 4 Stella Doro
anisette toast cookies (my weakness with coffee). Snacks
are spread out
throughout day. Calories: about 500

Black coffee, water throughout day. Green tea. One diet ginger ale.

Total calories: about 1440.

This day was a little unusual in the respect that I usually cook up a
chicken breast or
a swordfish steak or something for dinner, along with a veg or two. I just
didn't feel like
cooking something today. I also usually eat a total of 1600 to 1800 calories
per day lately
as I am trying to slow the weight loss down a bit. The average intake since
Oct up until recently
was right around 1400-1500 calories a day.

Never really feel overly hungry. If I do, I have a bottle of water or a
snack.
I also did 3.5 miles on the treadmill and elliptical this morning.

RCE
260/210/185

On Feb 2, 8:28 pm, "alex" wrote:
I'm a 40 year old male, 200 pounds, 5 foot 11 inches, and would like to lose
20 pounds. How many calories should I aim for each day. I did try and cut
down to 1500 and did 30 minutes of rowing daily, but found I'm just
constantly hungry.

Is 1500 to little for my needs. Should I increase it.

Play around with this calculator he

http://ibw.dietitian.com/ibw.exe

Without plugging in your activity levels and body meausrements, it
gives a rough estimate of about 2140 to maintain your weight, and 1640
calories to lose 1 lb per week (that's 500 cals less). However, at
your weight, rowing (moderately) burns 333 calories in 30 minutes (if
you row vigorously it burns more than that). So that might be why you
were hungry: your deficit for the day was closer to 800 cals. (and
more than that, if you do more with your lifestyle than just lie
around in bed all day).

I only need to lose 10 lbs and I'm finding that if my deficit is more
than 500 calories, particularly on the days that I run, I'm ravenous,
I get horrible headaches, and I also can't sleep. It's weird because
I'm actually burning a lot more calories on the days I walk for an
hour, compared to days I run for 30 minutes. But it's obvious to my
whole body that running is more intense and uses more muscle power
than walking.

Since you only have 20 lbs to lose, one strategy you might try is more
gentle, slower weight loss at 1/2 lb per week. This means you'd need a
daily deficit of only 250 calories. You could easily get that just by
sticking to 2140 calories (maintenance level) and rowing every single
day (burns 333 calories). Or on days you skip rowing, just eat one
less PBJ.

Be sure to save a small snack for immediately after rowing, to
replenish your glycogen levels for the next day. Such as one banana
and one small glass of low-fat milk. (If you like smoothies, try
throwing this into a blender with a handful of frozen berries... this
is what I do every day after my exercise. yum! I use 8th continent
light soy milk only 60 cals a cup).

Finally, make sure you take your body measurements for the most
accurate "before" picture, and track measurements not just scale
weight. Because with all that rowing, it is very likely that your
scale won't budge much, but that you'll pack on a lot of lean muscle
which will make you look slimmer even if the scale still reads about
the same.

jen

On Feb 2, 10:11 pm, "LFM" wrote:
You are using good rounded estimates of calories, but I have to ask - why in
the world did you eat 4 pieces of toast w/ peaunt butter and jam? You could
have done so much more with those calories than waste them on that.

Maybe true, but PBJ is not a "waste." Peanut butter - and any nuts -
are full of healthy fats and are slow to digest, so they stick with
you longer. Whole wheat bread provides good fiber and nutrients.
Together, they provide complete protein. IMO (and I was actually
thinking about this very subject just yesterday!), a PB sandwich is
the perfect meal! I make mine with whole wheat bread, 1 TB fresh
ground peanut butter, and half of a sliced banana. Such a sandwich for
lunch, with an apple, sticks with me far longer than a salad with
grilled chicken and a TB of dressing. I can go as long as 5 hours
without needing to eat again. (This may be a YMMV thing... I am not
one that can do the Atkins thing because I personally need a bit of
carbs at each meal to feel right).

Also, there is wisdom in the "boredom" diet strategy, i.e., eating the
same thing day after day. While it may not be the healthiest strategy
(since we're omnivores and thrive on a variety of foods to get all our
micronutrients) It's been shown that a diet that lacks variety is a
more successful weight loss strategy than one that has a lot of
variety. It's the "there's always room for jello" phenomenon.

jen

On Feb 3, 5:49 am, "shinypenny" wrote:
On Feb 2, 10:11 pm, "LFM" wrote:

You are using good rounded estimates of calories, but I have to ask - why in
the world did you eat 4 pieces of toast w/ peaunt butter and jam? You could
have done so much more with those calories than waste them on that.

Maybe true, but PBJ is not a "waste." Peanut butter - and any nuts -
are full of healthy fats and are slow to digest, so they stick with
you longer. Whole wheat bread provides good fiber and nutrients.
Together, they provide complete protein. IMO (and I was actually
thinking about this very subject just yesterday!), a PB sandwich is
the perfect meal! I make mine with whole wheat bread, 1 TB fresh
ground peanut butter, and half of a sliced banana. Such a sandwich for
lunch, with an apple, sticks with me far longer than a salad with
grilled chicken and a TB of dressing. I can go as long as 5 hours
without needing to eat again. (This may be a YMMV thing... I am not
one that can do the Atkins thing because I personally need a bit of
carbs at each meal to feel right).

Also, there is wisdom in the "boredom" diet strategy, i.e., eating the
same thing day after day. While it may not be the healthiest strategy
(since we're omnivores and thrive on a variety of foods to get all our
micronutrients) It's been shown that a diet that lacks variety is a
more successful weight loss strategy than one that has a lot of
variety. It's the "there's always room for jello" phenomenon.


That's a YMMV, I could not and will not, eat the same thing every day,
day after day. If I was faced with that, I would have stopped my
healthy WOL (Way of Life) a long time ago.

I always try to vary my diet. I make my own food and I am constantly
trying to make the food I eat healthier, contain less fats, less empty
calories, etc. It's really fun for me to try and eat a whole variety
of things!!!

Gack, if I had to eat the same thing every day, I'd feel I was in
prison! LOL!!!!

On Feb 3, 9:17 am, "SFrunner" wrote:

That's a YMMV, I could not and will not, eat the same thing every day,
day after day. If I was faced with that, I would have stopped my
healthy WOL (Way of Life) a long time ago.

I always try to vary my diet. I make my own food and I am constantly
trying to make the food I eat healthier, contain less fats, less empty
calories, etc. It's really fun for me to try and eat a whole variety
of things!!!

Gack, if I had to eat the same thing every day, I'd feel I was in
prison! LOL

I eat the same breakfast nearly every day: oatmeal made with soy milk,
1 TB ground flax seed. I alternate what fruit I eat with it (this
morning was fresh strawberries). I like being on autopilot in the
morning because I'm not a morning person. Also, I am usually a
notorious breakfast skipper.... if I have to think too hard about it,
it'll be lunchtime before I eat breakfast.

For lunch, I'm apt to rotate between two or three lunch ideas per
week, for example, this week I rotated between two lunch choices:

1) PB sandwich w/fruit
2) spinach salad with chicken breast, strawberries, and dried
cranberries

Most diet plans would drive me crazy, because they are *too* varied. I
laugh at the thought of buying just two slices of turkey breast per
week. If I am going to eat lunchmeat (which I don't - I hate
lunchmeat, but it's a good example) I'm going to buy enough for the
whole week and eat it every day.

Dinner is more often varied, but even then, for example, I will make
up a large batch of veggie soup that we'll eat at every dinner until
it's all gone. Currently we're working through a batch of curried
cauliflower soup. When that's gone (probably by Sunday), we're
planning to make a batch of broccoli soup. And also, the weeks when
our kids are with their dad and it's just the two of us, we are more
apt to subsist on simple meals like leftovers (which is a repeat) and
egg omelots.

When my DH is feeling his weight creep up (he's a very active, very
lean man), he goes on a "boredom" diet for a couple of days, which
consists of yogurt (plain whole milk), dried apricots, pita bread and
hummus.

jen